The Children of the Cinema
by Teen-Lyokofan7777
Summary: A before-Lyoko and before-Garage Kids story. I don't own the characters, just my name and my OC.
1. A Creation is Shown to the World

**I don't own Children of Cinema (Garage Kids; Code Lyoko), but I do own my OC. Those of you that are confused, here's a link (Remove the spaces and the 8s to make the link work). It was before Garage Kids and Code Lyoko:**  
h t8 t8 p8 s8 : / / www. youtube . c8 o8 m8 / watch?v= 4jyriwO-1j4

 **I'm making the children runaways because they were all in the same room in the video. Also, I'm sorry if this first chapter seems to be all over the place.**

Inside the Theater Room, several children sat, waiting for someone. One, a girl with brown hair and eyes, glasses, and a tiger-striped shirt-and-pants combo, vibrated in her seat. "Tzing is coming with the film! I can't wait."

Another, a boy with a purple diamond in his hair and purple-and-dark-pink clothing, waved her down. "Calm down, Cassidy. Remember the last time you got overexcited. You nearly blew a hole in the railroad tracks."

"No wonder I ran away. I'm unstable as it is, Odd," Cassidy looked at her pink-striped shoes in embarrassment.

Another boy with earth-tone clothing whacked Odd's neck. "She doesn't need reminding, _Odd!_ " he shouted.

* * *

-SPLASH-

A boy with a slightly shaved head was running with a garbage lid shaped object in his hand. He jumped over the stairs and took a left turn—running passed a small five-year-old boy and his parent in the process.

That caught the little boy's attention as he tugged on his parent's pant leg.

Meanwhile, the boy's feet pounded into the tunnel. He ran a few feet and took a smooth right turn into a curtain. Fanning it out, he raced inside.

It was the Theater Room. Everybody in the room cheered. Cassidy, people supposed was the middle child of the runaways, gave him a hug. "Tzing, you made it!"

"It was nothing, Cassidy," Tzing smiled.

He lifted the film over his head, as soon as she let go, in a sort of victory wave. Everyone cheered and a boy threw his hat in cheer.

He made his way to a blonde-haired boy with a baby sky blue mixed turtleneck sweater, brown pants, and glasses. He handed it to him. "There you go, Jeremie."

"Thanks, Tzing!" Jeremie said as he pulled the cover off the film and fed it into the projector.

The room darkened and the film began. Everyone seated themselves on the floor. A dog sat on an elder girl's shoulder. She usually wore all black, but she had a kind heart.

They watched a crayon-like pirate movie. The elder girl waved a hooked hand at a red-haired girl with pigtails, and the other one smiled. Odd and the earth-toned boy raised their swords behind a gun-wielding younger boy.

At one point, they saw a crayon drawing of Cassidy digging for something and finding a treasure. She turned her head and gestured to the group for help. They pulled up a chest, opened it up, and found jewels and coins inside. They hid the treasure to make their close-up.

Off-screen, the children in the room cheered. The earth-tone boy and Odd pretended to hoist the main sail.

Onscreen, the view zoomed into the Jolly Roger. On the flag were a little skull and two crossbones. A dog that looked similar to the one on the girl's shoulder popped up in front of the flag and barked twice.

It faded to black.

"That was amazing, guys!" Cassidy was full of emotional excitement.

"We did a superb job," the earth-tone boy agreed.

"What a great way to celebrate my birthday," she hugged the black-clad girl.

Tzing put the film back in its case. "Okay, Cassidy, since you're the birthday girl, who do you want to come with us to Applebee's?"

She thought on the subject. "Jeremie. He deserves a break after fixing the projector."

Jeremie held up his hands. "No thanks. I'm good."

"Come on, Jeremie. For me?" Her brown eyes went soft. "You deserve a break after what you did with the projector."

Odd came in. "Come on, Einstein. You deserve this. She chose you specifically."

A smile crept across the genius's face. "Alright. I'll go." He just couldn't say no to a birthday girl. He hated to disappoint her, having been on the wrong end before joining the Theater Room.

"YES!" Cassidy rejoiced.

"But, I pay the bill for your meal." Tzing shook his head at Jeremie's statement.

"No, my folks are paying for it." Tzing's parents were wealthy from having high-paying jobs, but he didn't act all stuck up about it. They were also charitable to the runaway's needs. For his hard work, they gave their son a hefty allowance.

One day, Odd used the last roll of toilet paper. Tzing's parents gave them a three month's supply of it. If a girl needed some supplies for her "needs…" they'd give her what she needed.

Nevertheless, the runaways found luck in their friend's parents' charitable hearts.

Cassidy, Jeremie, and Tzing went out of the Theater Room. The air was a little nippy but it showed the pleasant promise of spring.

"So, what do you want to eat?" Tzing asked the two. "You two can have anything you want, including dessert."

"I'll just take an appetizer sampler and that's it," Jeremie partially shivered in the semi-cold wind.

"What about you, Cassidy? Are you hungry for anything?"

"I was thinking something like steak and shrimp with a baked potato," Cassidy nodded.

"There is the Steak-and-Shrimp Parmesan that you can add the baked potato option," Tzing reassured.

She smiled warmly at him.

* * *

He only found her three weeks ago. Cassidy was too emotionally unstable in her old housing. Walking around town one day, she came across a pamphlet. It was a runaway paper saying that there would be a shelter in the Theater Room. All she had to do was to call Tzing or email him or send a letter by snail mail. She emailed him and he gave her a list of supplies to bring. Just the usual: Clothes, books, anything she would need.

She packed up and ran out in the middle of the night. The girl walked about two or three blocks away from her home when she bump into Tzing.

He took Cassidy into the Theater Room where she met Jeremie and the black-clad girl. "Hi, my name is Cassidy," she was a bit shy.

"I'm Yumi," she greeted warmly. "Welcome."

Yumi was another story. Her parents fought heavily and she bore the brunt of the force. At her wit's end, she packed one drawstring bag and fled out into the night. Tzing found her about three hours later. The thing about him was, he could almost psychically sense who ran away. She joined Jeremie, who had been bullied.

The earth-toned boy followed after Cassidy. He had had it with his father trying to force him into aristocracy. So he contacted Tzing in his privacy and fled out his bathroom window.

Odd followed suit with the boy. His five sisters gave him the worst hell in his entire life. In addition to the usual embarrassments, locking him in the bathroom was the worst experience he ever faced.

The earth-toned boy was running to the Theater Room when he stopped. He looked behind him. He heard a new noise. Then he saw a blond-and-purple haired boy. "Are you following me or what?" he asked.

"Um… n-no?" he looked around. "I'm…actually running away."

He scoffed. "Same here."

There was a pause. Then Odd piped up. "So…why are you running away?"

"My father. You?"

It seemed to Odd that he didn't like to talk about it. "My sisters—all five of them."

"Ouch."

"My name is Odd, by the way. Odd 'the Runaway' Della Robbia," Odd snickered as he held the gray dog in his arms. "And this is Kiwi, my dog."

"My name is Ulrich. Now, let me level with you, we don't exactly go way back. So for now, let's take this nice and slow with the friendship thing, okay?"

Someone cleared his throat. "I see I'll be taking in _two_ runaways and a dog tonight."

The two boys whirled to see Tzing. How he managed to find them, the boy never revealed.


	2. Jeremie has a Crush at Applebees

"We're here!" Tzing smiled.

Cassidy's mouth watered just looking at the sign. Sure, she had meals at the Theater Room, rendering any need to go out moot, but she always had guilty pleasures.

"Let's go in," Jeremie grinned.

They ordered a booth for three, Tzing still adamant about paying the bill. "Trust me, if they knew you paid…"

"The cops are everywhere, Jeremie. They don't leave us alone at night when we are wandering around. We may not be truant, but we don't want any of us shipped back to where we don't belong." Cassidy looked back, remembering a close shave. "I don't think I would like going home." She shivered.

Once upon a time, the Theater Room had been vacant. No one occupied it, and it wasn't anyone's property—public or private. It had no furniture, just a few chambers, and one single light. Then one day, a single runaway found it and felt safety enter his heart. That runaway found old furniture and refurbished the room, even leaving an old camera.

"Still remembering the psychological tricks?" Tzing frowned. "It's lucky you didn't get persuaded to go back home. How did you get separated from Odd and Yumi anyway?"

"My mind wandered to a knitting shop. I guess I lost my way there."

"Well, the buddy system is essential, Cassidy."

On the other hand, Jeremie's eyes widened. A beautiful girl with what looked like red hair due to the light walked in. "Wow…"

"What?! What," Cassidy sputtered, looking up from the menu. "Did something happen?"

"She is so beautiful…" he smiled dreamily.

She looked and saw who stole his attention. "Oh, her?"

He nodded. "Do you know her?"

"Her name is Aelita. We met at the library." She found what she wanted, then smirked. "I think somebody's got a crush…"

The genius's cheeks heated up red. "T-T-That's n-not true…"

She sighed with a cunning smirk. "Einstein…you're not convincing me."

Tzing sighed happily. "You know Cassidy won't give in so easily, Jeremie. To her, you've tread lightly into a trap."

"She's probably dating someone already."

"She never said anything about a boyfriend when I met her. Aelita's very nice."

"Where did you find her?"

Cassidy locked her eyes on her option. "She was at the entrance. I was looking for a book about haystack kittens and a cow-dog when I bumped into her."

"You apologized to her, instead of being mean, right?" Jeremie's voice piqued in panic.

"Uh, Jeremie? Who are you talking to here? Of course, I apologized to her—almost excessively until she told me she wasn't hurt." She looked up and waved her over.

The seemingly-redheaded girl walked to the table. "Hi, Cassidy."

"Hello, Aelita."

"So, what brings you here?" she smiled.

"H-her birthday's t-today." Jeremie blushed bright red, struggling with his words.

"Really?"

Cassidy nodded sheepishly.

"Happy birthday!"

"Why, thank you…"

Her emerald-green eyes flicked back and forth between the two boys. "Are these two your friends?"

"Yes," Tzing smiled. "My name's Tzing Zai!"

"And m-my name's…" Jeremie struggled to rake the knot out of his tongue.

"Pardon Jeremie. I think it's hot in here," Cassidy chuckled mildly.

Aelita smiled and then laughed. "I guess it is." She turned away. "I have to get back to choose my drink and meal. It's great to see you." She walked to her table where an older man with salt and pepper hair and a woman with long seemingly-red hair sat. "And it's great to meet your friends."

"See you later, Aelita. Maybe we can pick up where we left off at the library later." Cassidy turned to Jeremie.

"She's beautiful."

"Yes, she's pretty," she chuckled. "Einstein…it's time to get back to Earth, before…" A brow slanted as she thought of the right word to say, "…before aliens invade the earth, and we end up with moose stampeding through the Theater Room." Cassidy grinned. Odd taught her well.

Jeremie shook his head, finding himself back at the table. "Moose aren't even indigenous here."

Tzing held his mouth with his hand, shoulders shaking and the corners of his mouth tilted upward. "That was a good one, Cassidy!" he said muffled.

"Odd gave me that one. And you told me that I shouldn't learn from him," she smiled reproachfully.

Jeremie blushed. "Aelita sounds like a beautiful name."

"Jeremie, I think you might have found your Princess," Tzing smiled.

The waitress stopped at their table. "What can I get you to drink?"

"I'll have iced tea without lemon, ma'am," Cassidy grinned. "I'll add my own sugar."

"That's fine. You do whatever you think is necessary," Tzing nodded, hiding his mouth behind his menu, whispering something to the waitress.

"Tzing!" Cassidy lightly scolded. "I don't like restaurant attention during my birthday. You know that."

"Too bad, Birthday Girl. You deserve that brownie."

Cassidy pouted, but looked at her. "Make sure it doesn't have nuts, please, ma'am." She wasn't allergic, but she hated the taste of nuts in pastries.

"Of course," she smiled.

Jeremie and Tzing each ordered sodas.

"I don't see why you hate the brownie and ice cream," Jeremie looked at her.

"I don't hate that. I just get embarrassed when they start singing."

"Oh…you just don't like being in the center of attention," Tzing blushed. "Had I known, I wouldn't have done that to you."

She looked away. "I didn't think it was needed at the time."

"It is important to let me know these things." He reached across the table and rubbed her cheek. "It helps us out."

She nodded, blushing when his soft fingers touched her. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. 'not as though poor communication can expel you from the Theater Room, after all," Jeremie smiled.

She nodded. "Plus, I have only been there for three months. How are you to know every facet of my personality by then?"

"True. Unless I was some memory-stealing jellyfish," Tzing chuckled.

Cassidy merely shuddered. "That would be horrible."

"What do you mean?" Jeremie asked.

"Think about it. The thing just swoops in and steals someone's memory, holding the victim in its tentacles? Do you think that it has its own brain to think about doing that 24/7?"

He put a finger to his chin. "You got me there. It would be scary." The genius of the Theater Room winced. "But at least they don't exist here."

Cassidy smiled, giggling at the reassurance. "Thank goodness."

They ordered their meals and ate them. Cassidy smiled as the meal soothed her growling gut. "That'll settle the score."

Tzing took a bite of his barbecue-honey boneless wings, dipping them in honey mustard. "You said it, Cass. You chose the best restaurant to eat at."

The waitress returned and handed Jeremie a piece of paper. "The customer at the table across from you wanted you to have this."

"Huh?" He took and unfolded it. His eyes scanned across until he smiled dreamily again.

"Uh-oh…did Aelita give you something," Cassidy teased.

Jeremie handed the paper without thinking.

She read it. "Oh, Jeremie… She just gave you her number. Aelita must really like you."

"I—" his next sound came out as a squeak.

"Our Einstein's in love," Tzing chuckled.


End file.
